“But how did you know that I’d arrived?” Violet asked, turning to face her sister. “I went through the back just to surprise you.”
“While I was talking with a customer in the front parlor, I suddenly smelled honeysuckle with a hint of sandalwood, and I knew you’d come home,” Anne replied. “I excused myself and ran straight to the back door.”
“Your powers have gotten as strong as that, have they?” Violet asked with a grin. “I think that you’ve been holding back in your letters. What else have you been keeping to yourself?”
“You’ll find out soon enough,” Anne replied in a tone that reminded Violet of restless nights and shoulders strained from leaning too deeply into worries.
Violet opened her mouth to ask what the trouble was when something her sister had said finally clicked into place.
“Did you say you smelled sandalwood?” Violet murmured just before a chorus of greetings slipped under the door that led to the parlor and the pots and pans hanging from the pegs in the kitchen erupted once more.
“It can’t be,” Violet said, but she was already racing to the front parlor, tossing her valise to the floor as she and Anne tried to squeeze through the door at the exact same time.
When they finally managed to reach the parlor, a cluster of feathered hats and puffed satin sleeves was growing at the very center of the first floor, and sharp cries of surprise had caused more than one person walking by the front windows to peer inside, hoping to discover the source of the noise that spilled onto the street.
Among the commotion, Violet could see a headful of vibrant copper curls pop up now and again from the crowd of lively customers. It was like watching a nervous robin trying to peer over a flock of boisterous macaws.
“Miss Beatrix, I can’t tell you how good it is to see you again!”
“Miss Beatrix, you simply won’t believe all the changes your sister’s made to the shop, and in such a short period of time.”
“Miss Beatrix, you must tell us all about the new book you’re working on. We won’t take no for an answer!”
Deciding it was time to rescue their sister, Violet and Anne pushed forward, gently slipping between satin sleeves and bustle skirts until they each managed to grab hold of Beatrix’s gloved hands.
“Is Miss Violet here as well?!” a voice cried out, followed by an echo of gleeful gasps.
A burst of excitement rippled through the parlor then, and it was clear that if someone didn’t act soon, the sisters would be well and truly lost among the eager embrace of their regular customers.
“Give me a moment to have them to myself, ladies!” Anne cried above the chorus of protests as she marched toward the entryway, which was now tucked out of view from the rest of the parlor, though that didn’t stop more than one curious gaze from following them until their skirt trains disappeared around the corner.
Once they were surrounded by nothing more than a rack full of colorful cloaks and knit wraps, the Quigleys collapsed into one another, laughing as they pressed their foreheads together and reassured themselves that they hadn’t slipped into the past or future but were indeed firmly planted in the present.
Unspoken sentences filled the empty space between them: “I’ve missed you,” “It’s been too long,” “How good it feels to be back.”
But, like many of the moments that make life worth living, their reunion couldn’t be expressed in words.
So, instead of saying anything at all, Anne, Beatrix, and Violet took a few minutes to let the beat of their hearts fall into the same easy rhythm and relish the sensation of hearing their laughter tangle together again.
The house chuckled alongside them, shaking the chandelier that now hung in the entryway, as it did whenever a soft breeze slipped from the street and tinkled the delicate crystal drops.
“It’s not often these days that I get the pleasure of being surprised,” Anne finally murmured.
“A good surprise, I hope,” Beatrix said with a grin as she pushed back a curl that had escaped Anne’s chignon.
“It’s the one that I’ve been eagerly waiting for,” Anne replied, tightening her hold around her sisters’ waists.
“I don’t think we’ve completely thrown her off guard, Bee,” Violet interjected. “It seems she knew we were coming.”
“Is that true, Anne?” Beatrix asked, her eyes widening in amazement. “Did you know that we were on our way back?”
“There might have been a few signs,” Anne murmured, her gaze dropping shyly toward her boots.
“She’s been keeping secrets,” Violet chided. “After we’ve spent so much time writing all those details in our letters, she didn’t think to share this one with us!”
But the way Anne’s smile faltered as her attention lingered on Violet’s face hinted that she didn’t need tea leaves or tarot cards to know something more than homesickness had drawn her sister away from the circus and back to the Crescent Moon. Those worry lines and dark circles were waiting to be read as clearly as clouds on the rim of a porcelain cup.
“I’d say we have quite a lot to catch up about,” Anne replied before turning toward the busy front parlor and frowning. “If only it were nearer to closing time. Why don’t you two let the house settle you in, and once the customers leave for the day, I’ll join you upstairs?”
